Monthly Night Sky information provided by Chris Vaughan (@Astrogeoguy) at Starry Night Education (@StarryNightEdu).
On Monday evening, January 13, observers across the continental USA, northern Mexico, south and eastern Canada, and northwestern Africa will be treated to the full moon passing in front of, or occulting, Mars. The event can be observed with unaided eyes, binoculars, and any backyard telescope. The start and end times vary by location, so […]
Mars will officially reach opposition at 10 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 15. On that night, the bright red planet will rise with the stars of Gemini at sunset, climb to its highest position due south around midnight local time, and then set at sunrise. The bright, recently full moon will rise two hours after […]
After several months of courtship, the motion of the bright planet Venus will pass only a generous thumb’s width (or 2 degrees) from 200 times fainter Saturn on Friday evening, January 17. The duo will be close enough to share the view in binoculars and backyard telescopes (orange circle) using a low magnification eyepiece. Try […]
Early risers on Tuesday morning, January 21 can see the pretty, waning crescent moon shining in the southeastern sky just below (or celestial east of) Virgo’s brightest star, Spica. If you view the pair at sunrise, or in westerly time zones, the moon will be farther from the star. Observers in a zone covering the […]
The moon will complete three quarters of its orbit around Earth, measured from the previous new moon, on Tuesday, January 21 at 3:31 p.m. EST or 12:31 p.m. PST, or 20:31 GMT. At the third (or last) quarter phase the moon appears half-illuminated, on its western, sunward side. It will rise around midnight local time, […]